ᴅᴀʀᴇᴅᴇᴠɪʟ, ʏᴏᴜ'ᴠᴇ ʜɪᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴀʟʟ.

[chemex]

Who: Akira Kurusu, Goro Akechi, Nikolai Gogol, and anyone interested in some shenanigans!
Where: A handful of locations around Aldrip
What: Akira and Goro have decided to do some people-watching to determine the identity of Gogol's farce to fake his death.
Warnings: There's a closed prompt that's gonna result in half a centimeter from death, but otherwise the only real warnings are that Goro and Gogol are involved in this log. ...probably a lot of innuendo and stupid teenager bullshittery, also.



[Picture this; it's a normal Wednesday in Aldrip, the weather is reasonable, you're going about your daily life. There's been some craziness lately, hasn't there? Some clown stole some organs, some people got messed up getting those organs back, and then some more people got messed up killing the clown. Yikes!]

[What you may not realize, is during the Killing of the Clown™️, some more things were stolen. Goro took it upon himself to steal Gogol's cloak and tablet, and... Well. As it turned out, Gogol's death was merely temporary, try as he might to convince others he was gone for good. He'd like his things back, but he's currently under the guise of an unassuming Salaryman...,]

[Cut back to this perfectly pleasant, normal Wednesday! Goro Akechi has opted to attempt to sniff out Gogol's trickery, once and for all. With the help of his partner (in crime and everything else), they have stationed themselves in separate areas of the city, connected by a seemlingly innocuous phone call, enjoying the weather and doing some good old-fashioned detective work by way of people watching. What could possibly go wrong?]

//ooc; please do not reply to this main post! comments will go up shortly for both goro and akira, as well as a third closed prompt. pick who you'd like to interact with, or hassle them both! reply to their comments for any and all sort of shenanigans, centering on your character's basic daily life in aldrip. :>

Comments

[chemex]

[Luckily for Kei, Akira doesn't wear his glasses very often anymore. Today they're a Special Disguise that is actually pretty wholly insignificant, but it's fine. It's the thought that counts.]

[He wrinkles his nose.] I wouldn't be too worried about a Jack-- King Frost, maybe. But not Jack. He's usually harmless.

[totheno1]

Usually, but if dust piles up, it will become a mountain. [Thanks for the random proverb, Nanjo.] As for King Frost, I don't think I've ever met one. [Used in a dual summon spell, perhaps, but otherwise, no.]

[Don't mind him making his way over to Akira so that they can talk a little more privately at this point. It's strange, the closer he gets, the more the feeling of kinship increases, but there's something else too that makes him uneasy. It feels different...more concentrated, and powerful, somehow.]

Young man...how do you know about them?

[Bruh you're barely older than him.]

not me forgetting he has a king frost with him

[chemex]

[He's glad he can school his expression because you did not just break out a proverb at him over Jack Frost, sir, that has to be the funniest thing that's happened all day.] You're lucky, King is pretty much your mountain of Jack. [He'll wait to tell Nanjo he has one living in his skull until later, he thinks.]

[He scoots over to give Nanjo space to sit.] You might wanna get used to that, there's quite a few of us here. [He is absolutely so blithe about this.]

Me who had almost done the tag lmao phew

[totheno1]

[In studying him, Kei concludes that this lad's overall demeanour seems to be very relaxed. Even more when he nonchalantly lets him know of multiple 'us'. It's rather easy to figure that part out, at least.]

[More Persona users.]

[Interestingly, Kei doesn't seem to be surprised by that statement as he sits down. After all, he'd seen his fair share of them back home, and they tended to be the type of people who ended up in situations like this. Personas were tools given them to fight back, awakened during dire moments in one's life. And yet--]

Quite a few 'of us' you say, but there does not seem to be a single blue door in sight. [A pause.] Unless I have missed it, somehow.

IT'S FINE i just went "wait does he have king frost" and had to check LOL

[chemex]

[That's a solid assessment. He's pretty chill, at least outwardly-- maybe a little too much. If called on it, he'd probably suggest that if he didn't roll with the punches they'd take him out.]

[Akira's nose wrinkles in a slight grimace, and he shakes his head.] Been about a year and I've never seen one, either.

[totheno1]

I see.

[A year...it reminds him briefly of what happened with Maki and her friends that had been trapped in the alternate world for three months...but it also means that, if he takes this young man at his word at least (and so far Akira doesn't give him any feelings that he can't be trusted) it also means this has been going on for a while.]

I must admit, that's rather disappointing news. [He also has to ask because if she's here and Igor isn't, this place is even worse than he thought.] What about Trish's fountain?

[chemex]

[Another lackadaisical shrug, and Akira leafs through his papers absently.] Just means we aren't here to "save" something, to me. [He's a touch at odds with being his timeline's constant savior. But more importantly--] Trish?

[totheno1]

[He can't help but briefly look at the papers as Akira shuffles them. Some seem to be recipes...a cat picture?] That's a possibility. Perhaps this world is beyond what the Velvet Room can reach...or we're simply meant to solve this on our own with the tools already at our disposal. [Any of these are a frightening possibility. Good thing that the other conversation at least takes away some of the tension.]

Truthfully... if you've never met her, young man, then it's best to keep it that way. If you ever see a room that leads to a fairy fountain...take my advice. Close it immediately. She is as greedy as they come, with the excuse there is no other place that will heal you.

[chemex]

[He hums thoughtfully-- "meant to solve this with the tools already at our disposal" sours his stomach just slightly, but he can't deny the possibility. He lets his eyes unfocus just slightly looking to the left of Nanjo's shoulder, continuing to shuffle his papers needlessly, and then looks up at him when his little speech is done.] ...no fairy fountains, got it. Luckily we heal ourselves.

[totheno1]

[Is he nervous, or simply has trouble standing still? He'll chalk it up to the latter for now.]

In this case, I meant not just in terms of healing spells, but in terms of energy that we employ when we summon our Personas.

[Ahh there we go. Finally. The word out there in public. But also; more than one.]

She tended to specifically position herself in strategic places when we were at our lowest. Thankfully, we quickly learned to prepare accordingly.

[Endure a blow and administer two, as he would say.]

I apologize for not introducing myself before now. [He stands up and gives him a small bow, because that's what a proper japanese gentleman does.]I am Kei Nanjo, pleased to meet you.

[chemex]

[Definitely the latter-- kid's never heard of sitting completely still unless he's dead asleep. Or just dead, but who's splitting hairs, here.]

[Akira tilts his head at the statement, taking note both of the further specifics of this "Trish" person, and Nanjo's specific use of "Personas", plural. A wry grin pulls his lips crooked. He watches him stand and sets his papers down to join him, though his bow is relatively casual.] Akira Kurusu, and the same. We had items that helped restore SP, but it sounds like your group had a way harder time of it. [Early Persona games kicking their casts asses, man.]

[totheno1]

[It's...honestly rather nice that Kurusu took the time to greet him, but that the bow is also casual. He's so used to other Japanese people greeting him with their heads nearly on the floor. It serves as a reminder that in this place, his name doesn't hold as much power as it does back home, and that he won't be treated as someone different.]

[It's rather amusing; just three years ago, the very idea would have angered him deeply, but now he finds solace in it.]

...

[He wants to say something else, but he suddenly looks...very troubled?]

To recover hit points, use Medicine and Gem....

[Oh no... Thankfully he quickly snaps out of it.]

I apologize. I'm afraid that the Satomi Tadashi Pharmacy song will never leave me be.

[chemex]

[Akira's a casual kid, even if he did have familiarity with the Nanjo group, or the Kirijo, or-- any of it, really-- He's not big on going dogeza until someone has proven to him they're worth the effort. He likes to make his own assessments.]

[It's a bit funny that they were talking about the Velvet Room and Nanjo proceeded to zone the fuck out-- he imagines that's about what he looks like when the others see him go still when he accesses it, maybe minus the restless knit to his brow.]

[He grins again at the apology, waving a hand dismissively.] No worries. They make jingles annoyingly catchy on purpose. [He has no idea what the Satomi Tadashi Pharmacy song is, but he'll assume it's like any other store jingle.]

[totheno1]

[Kurusu, it is the worse. It lives, uninvited, deep in Nanjo's mind. It drives him insane. If this world ever wants to torture him, they just need to play it over and over and over...]

[He coughs and sits down again.]

True. [Time to switch the subject.] Now then, Mister Kurusu, if you've been here for a year, there must be a lot you could tell me about this world. If you are feeling generous enough to share, of course.

[chemex]

[Akira barks a sharp, boyish laugh and sits back down, waving both his hands.]

I'll stop you there-- call me Akira, please. [He sets his hands on his legs and looks thoughtful.] I'm not the greatest resource, but I can try my best.

[totheno1]

[Kei looks slightly offended at the idea. Still, it's a little easier to swallow having been in Oxford where most people introduce and use each other's first names.]

Very well. I'll do my best, Mister Akira. [NANJO. Ehhh, close enough.] Were you one of the first arrivals, or were there others before you? I've been attempting to get a grasp of the timeline of past events.

[chemex]

[Mister Akira provides a little chuckle, shaking his head.]

There were people here before me, but not too many, I don't think?

[totheno1]

So one of the first groups, then. [Hmmm. It looks like he'll need to keep digging to see who arrived here the earliest.]

Apart from the generosity shown at our arrival, what do you think of this world and living here, compared to back home? I assume if there's a Jack Frost arcade prize, there might potentially be demons around, although I have yet to stumble upon one.

[chemex]

[The second part of that catches his attention, and he tilts his head again.]

Not... mmn, sort of? It's not like the Metaverse where we just run into Shadows, but... Hang on. [He sits back a second, reaching across the frames of his glasses with his thumb and middle finger, taking a moment to pull them away from his eyes like there's the slightest amount of resistance to the motion. He mumbles something, and then pulls them the rest of the way away from his face, holding them out and looking upward.]

[Upward, to the sudden presence of a large, humanoid creature with wings and antennae and a top hat nearly as tall as Akira's entire person. He's a translucent blue, sort of shimmering apparition for a moment before he slowly seems to solidify into the reds and blacks he actually is.] We can summon ours, though Arsène is always easiest.

[totheno1]

The Metaverse? [???] I don't know what that is, but running into Shadows seems rather dangerous, even for a Persona user...

[But to his credit, he waits diligently as Akira goes into the movements to summon his Persona (by taking off his glasses for some reason). He observes the creature before him, wishing that Eriko was here to tell him who Arsène is - it's not like reading the exploits of a french gentleman thief would have been part of his literary repertoire, after all. The open facade of the other before him, giving him clues as to what kind of person Akira could be. Akira, in turn, would probably notice Kei's lack of surprise that the teenager can do this out there in the open, despite being in public.]

The ones closest to the our heart are always the first to answer the call.

[He supposes it's only a fair exchange to do the same in turn, as he stands up, the bluish energy at his feet creating a wall of bluish light before a...man? clearly much more humanoid than Arsene, dressed in in a three-piece suit that was not as colourful or as damper as the persona opposite of itself. Nonetheless, it also sported a pair of upward boots. On a surfboard. With a visor and a pair of wings that looked like they came out from a 1990s sci-fi show about what the future would be like.]

While Aizen Myouou was the first to aid me...this is mine. Yamaoka.

[There is a soft reverence for it before it disappears again.]

[chemex]

Oh-- it's different for each group, I think.

[It's the whole "unmasking" motion, Nanjo, get with it. If he hadn't been wearing the specs it probably would have been weirder because he'd have just swiped his hand across his eyes as though applying war paint. Or removing it, as it were.]

[He's gotten used to them manifesting in Aldrip like this, so it doesn't strike him as odd, immediately. He'll get to those details later, probably. He just grins to the statement, looking up at Arsène with a funny little grin, splaying his hand across his chest. Arsène, for his part, doesn't seem capable of making expressions much outside of the fiery grin across the plate that makes up his face, but his wings expand slightly in what appears to be a pleased gesture.]

[He takes in the look of Yamaoka and has a brief moment where he almost wants to liken him to Sojiro in a really weird acid trip dream, but he refrains. Instead, he dips into another easy bow, still seated, and smiles gently.] Good to meet you both.

[totheno1]

Is it?

[That seems to be an invitation to more information, which he'll gladly take.]

Thank you. It is a honor to meet you both as well.

[This is probably the most formal he's been with a fellow persona user before.]

I look forward to working with you, should the need arise.

[chemex]

Metaverse for me, Dark Hour for others, I think Midnight Channel for others still. The other world we go to for Persona shenanigans. [Just modern Persona things.]

[His grin pinches his eyes nearly closed for a moment, and then he reaches up to hook his fingers over the toe of one of Arsène's boots, the Persona shifting its floating weight to accommodate the gesture. Akira seems quite comfortable with the thing.]

[totheno1]

The other world...

[None of these ring a bell, from how he repeats those words. There had been a situation. Once. But that was different.]

As a teenager, I did end up in a world created by the mind of a friend. However, the last battles I was involved in took place in, well, for a lack of better term, the 'real' world.

[chemex]

[Akira does not have the presence of mind to unpack this right now.]

I think it's a little different for each of us, anyway.